By Libby Hopkins
Margie Burnett, the owner of Mayhams Restaurant in Seffner, has a lot to be thankful for in her life. She has a loving family, great friends and a thriving restaurant that has been a part of the Seffner community for over six months. Since she is so blessed, she wanted to give back to those who are in need. This past Thanksgiving, she opened up Mayhams and fed the homeless and anyone who needed a meal. “This is something I really wanted to do for a long time because I’ve never known what it’s like not to have a warm place to sleep or food to eat,” Burnett said, “So when I got the restaurant, I was finally able to do what I’ve always wanted to do which is help people.”
Burnett decided a few days before Thanksgiving to have the dinner, so she took to the restaurant’s Facebook page to spread the word. Her customers and the Seffner community came together to help her prepare the dinner. She had 13 turkeys that needed to be cooked, so some of her customers offered to cook them for her while she made the bulk of the food at Mayhams. They also donated deserts to go along with the meal and clothing to be given out to the homeless as well. “It was very short notice but with the support I have from my friends and customers, we were able to pull it off in enough time,” Burnett said. She fed over 50 people a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings and they were able to take leftovers with them.
She is planning on having a similar event for Christmas day, but this time she will be teaming up with Cynthia Pinckney Ministries of Seffner, which is an outreach ministry that serves the homeless and needy in the area. “My hope is to bring everyone in the community together to make sure that they see what we are doing and it motivates them to help someone in need,” Burnett said.
For more information on the services offered by Cynthia Pinckney Ministries, you can visit her website at www.cynthiapinckneyministries.org. If you would like to help Burnett with the Christmas event, you can contact Mayhams at 689-0077. The restaurant is located at 1812 S. Parsons Ave.
